Category: Borders

  • Skyline Drive – North District

    Skyline Drive hugs the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles (169 kilometres), down the length of Shenandoah National Park. I’ve traveled every section of it, in whole or in part several times, as recently as 2022. So it felt like I rejoined an old friend as we undertook a day-trip from our…

  • Finish Ohio & More, Part 1 (Swipe Up)

    It’s been a work in progress. Slowly, ever slowly, I chipped away at Ohio counties as my older kid attended school in Michigan. I took a different route through Ohio multiple times, collecting counties and adding them to my list. So this was, I think, the sixth trip involving Ohio, all dutifully recorded on Twelve…

  • Washington Co., Maryland; Day 2

    The pressure was off once I flipped the status of Washington County to “overnight” on my County Counting list. Officially it became Overnight County #205. Now I could concentrate on exploring beyond Hagerstown and further into the countryside. Hancock I’ve always loved driving through Hancock on the western side of Washington County. I’ve mentioned it…

  • Borderland, Part 4 (Walpole Algonac Ferry)

    Our brief respite in Ontario approached its conclusion and we had to return to the United States. Three days earlier, we crossed the border using the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia, which involved an hour-long wait. So this time we tried something different that had the added benefit of increasing my personal…

  • Borderland, Part 3 (Point Pelee)

    Canada’s Point Pelee National Park became one of my priority destinations ages ago. Now, finally, after all these years I could visit it in person. I was not about to miss my opportunity. It’s not difficult to get there, but for me at least it involved the added complication of an international border. Luckily, now…

  • Borderland, Part 2 (Blue Water Bridge)

    We entered Canada for the second time in the last few months. However, this visit was only a long weekend instead of the several days days we spent there during summer. Also, we drove across the border into Sarnia rather than flying into Toronto. So it was a much different experience, not nearly the same…

  • Borderland, Part 1  (Belle Isle)

    We flew up to Michigan for the older kid’s fall break from graduate school and we all wanted to see something new. This encompassed both sides of the international border between Michigan’s lower peninsula and the province of Ontario. Essentially this involved the borderlands along the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 4 (Parks Highway)

    Fairbanks is by far the most populated area of Interior Alaska so it made a great base for launching day trips. Our first adventure led southwest on the Parks Highway. I assumed Denali National Park and Preserve and the Denali State Park influenced the highway’s name. However, it actually referred to George Parks, an Alaska…

  • Ontario, Day 1 (Choices)

    I’ve been to Canada a few times but never for very long. One time when I was a kid, maybe ten years old, we went to Toronto for a couple of days. It was so long ago that I can’t even remember most of the details anymore. However, every trip I’ve done afterwards lasted no…

  • Indiana I-69 Time Zone Crossing

    If you’re driving along Indiana’s portion of Interstate 69, say from Evansville to Bloomington, you are going to cross a Time Zone boundary. It happens between Mile Markers 37.5 and 39.0, about forty minutes north of Evansville at normal highway speeds. But please note that the situation gets genuinely weird as you cross between zones…